http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...326003,00.html

Deep snow delays planned blazes
Fewer controlled burns now may mean more dangerous wildfires later
By Trent Seibert, Denver Post Staff Writer
The remains of the March blizzard have kept Front Range fire crews from
conducting several critical controlled burns, and some fear wildfire danger
will be greater this summer because the undergrowth hasn't been burned off.


In places such as the Mount Evans State Wildlife area and Jefferson County's
Elk Meadow Park, fire crews are blocked by snow still piled high. Near Lake
George, in Pike National Forest, uncooperative weather, such as clouds and high
winds, is the culprit.

"It is being hindered," Golden District state forester Allen Gallamore said of
several controlled burns in Jefferson County. The burns clear away the small
trees and brush that can turn a tossed cigarette or lightning strike into a
massive blaze.

"There are going to be fuels out there and once they dry out, they will help a
fire burn more intensely," he said. "Every acre we can treat ahead of time
helps."

The parks and open spaces where managed fires have been delayed are in some of
the state's worst danger zones. Lake George was nearly evacuated last summer
because of the leviathan Hayman wildfire.

Some fear the busted burns - postponements that could last until the fall in
some cases if weather does not cooperate - could mean parts of the foothills
could be in extreme danger as wildfire season creeps closer.

"It's scary," said Sandy Stahl, the director of nursing at Elk Run Assisted
Living, a recently opened facility that is home to 30 elderly residents and
which sits on a tree-studded hill overlooking Elk Meadow Park. "The controlled
burns really help."

Some burns are getting done, though.

Officials on Monday conducted a controlled burn at Jefferson County's White
Ranch Park, which some officials thought last week might have to be delayed.

These burns become even more important, some experts say, because fewer have
been conducted over the past 18 months because of the drought.

One of the last major controlled burns to be conducted in Pike National Forest,
for example, took place in autumn 2001, when the Forest Service burned 8,000
acres east of Deckers. Large pines survived, but the sickly, small stuff that
would feed a big wildfire was consumed.

In June, that area, called the Polhemus burn, saved Roxborough and nearby
subdivisions by depriving the oncoming Hayman wildfire of fuel. If not for the
Polhemus burn, the fire would have torn through those homes, fire officials
say.

In recent years before the drought, federal officials would try to burn through
3,000 to 5,000 acres of Pike brush annually, according to Mike Hessler, a
district fire manager for the Forest Service.

Managed fires conducted by local governments are often smaller. In the case of
the delayed burn at Elk Meadow, 180 acres are targeted. At Mount Evans, about
200 acres are set to burn.

Officials hope they can get to the burns soon.

"There's so much snow back there it's incredible," said Randy Frank, who
oversees such burns for Jefferson County's Open Space Department, speaking of
some open space spots. "We're just kind of waiting."

The 400-acre controlled burn planned for Pike National Forest near Lake George
"will be rescheduled as soon as weather and other environmental conditions
permit, perhaps later this coming week," said Terry A. McCann, spokesman for
the Pike National Forest and the South Platte Ranger District.

But as the snow melts, other kinds of burns are being delayed.

In Larimer County's Horsetooth Mountain Park, fire teams have not been able to
burn away piles of dead wood and brush they have collected from potential hot
spots. Those piles could be fuel for a future fire.

The crews had trouble initially getting to the site because of the mounds of
snow, and now, the snow has melted so quickly, it is too dangerous to burn.

"It's impacted our ability to finish things up," said Don Griffith, emergency
service coordinator for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. "This summer,
we're going to have to be cautious."

Officials are taking a wait-and-see approach, the only thing they can do since
weather is a major factor.

They are also spending their time on other fire-prevention endeavors, such as
digging lines in forest floors to act as fire breaks, according to Franks.

Some residents near these danger zones are watching to see what happens, too.
At Elk Run Assisted Living, nursing director Stahl said she is not too
concerned, in part because of the close contact between the facility's
officials and the local Fire Department.

Other residents say they would rather see fire experts forgo the controlled
burns than rush into them as the weather turns drier.

"I'd rather see them delay a year, instead of going in when it's too dry and
have the fire get away from them," said Jean Shinder, a regular visitor to Elk
Meadow Park, who lives nearby.